Only Nightmares
by Storm-fox8
Summary: When Beastboy starts having distressing dreams of Raven dying, is it just a vivid nightmare or something more? Bbxrae chapter 5 is now up! Sorry about the delay!
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: Woo! A new story been a while since I wrote so excuse my laziness XD Anyway, I am a very strong supporter of BeastboyxRaven obviously lol, and normally, (and I have to admit I prefer it) I see stories of Beastboy comforting Raven, or Raven crying on his shoulder, etc. So in this story, he is going to be seeking comfort from her. _

_(Updated)- Yes, I do want to still continue this story, just haven't really got round to it. So I read over it and thought it could be a lot better, so I've changed quite a bit. Hope it's better!_

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Only Nightmares

Chapter 1

"No…"

A flash of blood, a piercing scream…

"No…"

A broken body, sprawled across the floor…

"NO!"

Beastboy lurched awake, trembling and out of breath. Cold beads of sweat slowly made their way down his green skin, tracing a line along his cheek. Suddenly he jumped to action, tussling with the tangled sheets to get out of bed and falling heavily on his face from his bunk bed in the process.

Shakily he got to his hands and knees, trying to catch his breath and rub his sore nose. Another vivid image from the nightmare flashed before his eyes and he started, shutting his eyes tightly to try and block it out.

Beastboy silently crept to his door and slid it open, so as not to wake the other titans. He didn't care if it was late- he had to see her. He had to see that she was still alive.

Raven lay on her bed, unable to sleep. Something was troubling her tonight. In fact something disturbed her sleep most nights, although she could never quite put her finger on just what it was that was keeping her from rest. She sighed and sat upright. She carefully folded her legs and began to levitate. She tried to calm herself, breathing in and out deeply. Just as she was about to begin her chanting, the words on the tip of her tongue she heard a soft voice call out from beyond her door.

"Raven? Raven are you in there?" Raven immediately recognised Beastboy's youthful voice, but not the fear that lay intertwined within his words. She let her focus slip and floated softly onto her quilts. She made her way over to the door and slid it open to see his pale green face.

Raven was taken aback by his appearance- his careless youthful expression was gone, and replaced by one of fear and uncertainty, his hands trembling as he fidgeted, and his shining eyes brimming with tears. She was even more surprised when he suddenly flung himself into her arms and sobbed gratefully into her shoulder. She was now frightened for him, but seeing that he was clearly distraught about something, she gently hugged him back, wrapping her arms around his shaking body.

After a few minutes Raven felt Beastboy hesitantly pulling away, but he did not meet her eyes.

"Beastboy?" she asked gently, "what's going on?" He slowly looked up at her, his face soaked from tears. She just couldn't bear the sorrow in his eyes.

"I…I thought something bad had happened to you…" he muttered, looking away again.

"Why?" Raven said, feeling awkward.

"I…I had a n-nightmare……and you…you were…" he stuttered.

"I was what Beastboy?"

"You were…_dying_" he whispered the last word, but the dread in his voice was evident. Raven eyes widened; he had seen her dying!

"I'm sorry, I just had to see…that you were ok." He said quickly, trying to avoid discussion about what he had witnessed.

"It-its ok Beastboy…" Raven was still trying to take it in. She didn't know what to say to him, she could see how disturbed he still was, and she wasn't too happy about it herself. "I'm fine, it was just a dream."

Beastboy winced, "a nightmare…"

Raven looked at him sympathetically and gave him a nervous smile. He gave her a shaky grin in reply, but she could tell it was false.

"I'll…go back to bed then…" he said quietly, and turned around to walk down the corridor.

"Beastboy…" Raven called after him, her voice heavy with concern, "Will you be alright?" He nodded, but she was not convinced. She retreated into her own room, carefully shutting the door and sitting back down on her bed.

She rolled what had just happened over and over in her mind. If she wasn't able to sleep before, now she definitely wouldn't. _"You were…dying…" _She shuddered. She found it slightly distressing that he had dreamt this, but she also felt quite touched that he was so concerned for her. She had never been shown much affection, and no one had ever been so worried for her well being. She knew the titans cared about her, and that Beastboy was probably quite right to be distressed about seeing anyone die, but she couldn't help having a soft spot for his innocent and dependant nature.

Raven lay there for some time, sometimes thinking about how unexpected Beastboy's nightmare had been, and sometimes remembering what it was like when he was in her arms, crying on her shoulder, so close to her…

Abruptly her thoughts were interrupted by the distant sound of someone screaming. She quickly stumbled over to her door and looked down the corridor. There was nobody there, but she could still hear the crying echoing down the shadowed hallway. She ran out into the corridor, following the heart wrenching sound. The closer she came to the source the more certain she became of where it was leading her.

Raven finally stopped in front of Beastboy's door, his frantic yelling coming from within. She hastily threw open the door and stepped inside, careful not to trip over his piles of junk. He was writhing and squirming in his bed, the majority of his sheets hanging off the bed. She flew up to his bedside and firmly shook his shoulders.

"Beastboy, BEASTBOY! Wake up!" finally he opened his eyes, tears streaming down his face. Raven gently wiped the tears from his eyes. "Was it the same…nightmare?" she felt like she almost didn't want to know. He nodded. It was weird enough for her that he had dreamt it once, but now it was making her feel very uneasy.

She looked at him supportively, as he clung onto her arm tightly and curled up into a defensive position. After a short while she could hear his breathing grow heavy, and knew that he had fallen to sleep, still tightly gripping her arm for comfort.

Unable to release her arm from his grip without waking him- and quite reluctant to- she gingerly lay down next to him and pulled up the covers. As she settled he cuddled up to her, moving his grip from around her arm to around her waist. She tensed, feeling awkward and embarrassed, but slowly relaxed as the warmth of his body soaked into hers. She had never been this close to him before. In fact, she had never been this close to anyone. Suddenly she realised just how alone she felt, and longed for this moment to last.

For the first time she felt needed by someone, maybe even lo- no. He didn't… she only wanted him to. Did she? Confused by her own thoughts she put her mind to rest, just happy to be near him in his time of need. She soon joined him in his slumber, and they both shared the deepest sleep they had ever had.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

_A/N: This wasn't going to be quite this fluffy, but I'm in that kind of mood. I can't say how long it will be until I update this, as I have coursework, but I will try my best! Reviews will only encourage me to update sooner… ; ) Oh yeh and sorry for my rustyness XD_

_(updated)- heh, yeah I added some stuff, deleted some stuff and just twidled some words, but I hope it's better now. Please review!_


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: heh heh, yeh I know I haven't updated in quite a while…. O.o Sorry about that I've been pretty obsessed with oekaki and I just got photoshop :D Well anyway here's chapter two!_

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Only Nightmares

Chapter 2

The next morning Raven awoke to the sound of someone breathing beside her, and could feel the warm air blowing on her neck. When she finally came to her senses, she realised she was lying next to another person, in a room that definitely wasn't hers. In her panic she managed to fall out of the bed, landing with a thud on a pile of messy clothes on the floor.

"Huh? What…" Beastboy's dopey face appeared over the side of the bed, and lit up when he saw Raven sprawled on his floor rubbing her sore back. "Heh, that happens to me a lot" he grinned, remembering the previous night and touching his still tender nose. Then without warning the nightmare came into his mind, the reason why he had stumbled so carelessly out of bed in the first place. His warm smile was instantly gone, eaten away by the dark images of his dream.

"I bet it does…" Raven mumbled as she stood up, also remembering the events of last night. She looked up at Beastboy's dull face and sighed. "Beastboy, you need to try and forget about it. The more you think about it the more likely you'll have it again." This just made matters worse of course.

He looked up in surprise. "You think it'll happen again?" he asked nervously.

"Look…I don't know…" She said, trying to recover, "Let's just… go and get some breakfast OK?" She smiled warmly at him. Beastboy nodded uncertainly and clumsily climbed down from his bed.

Raven glared up at his dishevelled bed. "Aren't you going to make that?" she looked at him accusingly.

"Nah" He said, glancing up at the sheets hanging off the bed as they slowly slid down onto the floor. They exchanged glances, and then giggled quietly.

'_Well, at least I got a laugh out of him_,' Raven thought to herself as she followed him out of the door.

The day went by fairly slowly for Raven. She went about her usual business, meditating for a while after breakfast, reading for a little bit, and even helping Starfire make lunch. It was an unusually quiet day though; there wasn't a single call for help and the other team-mates seemed to be keeping to themselves. She felt she should be enjoying the extra peace and quiet, but she simply couldn't concentrate on the words on her page. She had read the same sentence far too many times already and still didn't know what it said.

Sighing Raven put the book down. She just couldn't keep her mind off Beastboy and his nightmare. It didn't help that whenever she looked he seemed to be lingering close by, and never let her out of his sight the whole day.

She looked over to him. He was sitting on the couch flicking through channels, clearly also unable to concentrate. Raven shook her head as he looped and started flicking through the same channels. His mind was obviously far away.

She glanced at the clock. It was quite late now; almost 10:45pm. She abruptly got up and tucked her book under her arm.

"I'm going to bed, goodnight Beastboy." She said in a monotone voice. He suddenly jumped up, a pleading look on his face. He didn't say anything, but Raven knew he didn't want her to go, and that he'd probably rather be battling Slade than have to go to bed and face sleep.

As she reached her room and prepared herself for bed, she wondered if she would be awoken by his screams again that night. The thought made her shudder; it had not been a pleasant alarm clock. '_Maybe he won't even go to bed'_, she thought as she climbedunder the cool sheets,drifting to sleep with image of waking in the morning and finding him still flicking channels.

Beastboy didn't know what to do. He had felt lost all day, just dreading having to go back to bed. He felt worse now that Raven had gone. He had made sure he had been near her all day, just for the extra comfort ofher presence and the reminderthat she was still alive. He knew he was probably being stupid and paranoid, it was after all just a nightmare…

Still, he couldn't shake the horrific images from his mind. They had been so realistic, he just couldn't bear the thought of Raven being in a situation like that.

'_I can't go through that again, I just can't go back to sleep, I won't, I won't…I…w-' _"Argh!" Beastboy suddenly jerked himself awake. "I'm not going to sleep!" He told himself furiously. But he just couldn't resist it. He was hopelessly tired after the previous night, and before long his eyes had drifted shut, and he flopped lifelessly onto the sofa.

_The next morning…_

The morning sunlight crept through the gap in Raven's curtains, stirring her slightly. She rubbed her eyes and stretched slightly, still not fully awake. She felt something warm and soft against her side and cuddled up to it, wrapping her arm around it's furry tummy as if it was a teddy. The 'teddy' wriggled slightly in her grip. _'That's odd…' _She thought groggily, tightening her grip. _'Since when did teddies move…wait…since when did I have a teddy…' _

"Argh!" She suddenly let go of the creature and sat upright throwing her sheets away from her in alarm. A small green cat with rather ruffled fur poked its head out from under the thin material, giving her an apologetic look. "Oh…Beastboy," She said, exasperated and still rather shaken. He morphed back into his human form and sat up, looking down at his feet.

"Urm…sorry Raven…" He mumbled sheepishly.

Raven shook her head, her eyes still closed sleepily. "Did you… you know…have that nightmare again?" He nodded. "This can't go on Beastboy, you're losing too much sleep," She said. Secretly she had had the best sleep in weeks when she had been beside him. She enjoyed having someone next to her, someone warm to cuddle up to in the middle of the cold night. But looking at his face she could see that it needed to stop. He was paler than usual, his skin a sickly green, his eyes had losttheir usual spark of youthfulness and bags were forming beneath them.

He looked up at her aghast. "But…I…"

"Beastboy it's not that I don't understand, but look at yourself! You're going to make yourself ill!"

"No! You don't understand! You think I'm exaggerating but you have no idea what it's like!" He yelled. Raven jumpedbackfrom his sudden outburst. "Every time I can see your broken body sprawled lifelessly across the floor, your clothes torn, your skin covered in bruises and cuts. Every time I can hear you screaming, over and over, calling me but I can't reach you! I can feel your breathing, the very beating of your heart slowing, each pulse more painful and strained, I can _feel _your life slipping away… your body, the floor everywhere is covered in blood…so much blood… YOUR BLOOD RAVEN!" He screamed, tears streaming down his face.

Raven looked at him horror stricken. She was frozen; his description had shocked her to the core. And she knew he was right. If she saw him like that, she would be the same. Without warning he flung himself into her arms, gripping her tightly and taking sharp breathes as he sobbed into her hair. She slowly hugged him back, not knowing what else to do as he cried endlessly for her…

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

_A/N: o.O; hehe, angsty. I think there may only be one or two more chapters to this, since it was always going to be a short story, and I have other ideas. The more reviews I get the more encouraged I will be to continue! XD_


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: Hi again, hope you're enjoying this fanfic I wrote this at midnight and I'm not sure whether that is a good thing or not so… o.O It starts out fluffy, and turns angsty. _

_Read and enjoy please!_

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Only Nightmares

Chapter 3

A few days passed much the same as that one. Beastboy continued to drift around behind Raven like a lost sheep throughout the day, and at nights she would either end up running to his room to shake him out of his nightmares, or wake in the morning to find him lying beside her. Raven was beginning to get used to this routine, even thought they were both losing much of their sleep. She knew ever since Beastboy's outburst not to ask about his nightmare or to suggest that he try and put up with it.

Since the nightmare wasn't showing any signs of easing off, the previous night she had even allowed Beastboy to sleep in her room from the beginning of the night. She thought it would help seeing as they always ended up sleeping in the same room anyway, and for the most part it did.

They slept soundly until 2:00am, when Beastboy had suddenly yelped, leaping up from his pile of quilts on the floor and landing on top of Raven. Startled, she had also cried out in surprise, tearing open the curtains with her powers so that the dim moonlight illuminated the scrawny green figure draped over her.

"Hi Raven…" he gulped, his face dangerously close to hers. She blushed madly as he hurried to climb off her. "Urrr…sorry…about…that, nightmare…you know," he mumbled nervously.

Raven shook her head. "It's OK…just not what I expected to wake up to," he grinned. She always managed to make him feel happy, no matter what the situation was.

"Thanks Rae," he said warmly.

"What for?" she asked, looking at him with sleepy eyes.

"For everything. For being so understanding and supportive. You've always been there for me, even at times when anyone else would have told me I was over exaggerating and being immature." Raven opened her mouth to respond, but didn't know what to say. Her cheeks turned slightly pink at his words. "I don't know what I would do if anything like that ever really did happen to you. I would just… break down…" he looked away, his eyes distant, but heavy with the burden of dread.

"Beastboy…" Raven began, having found her voice, "I…I'm not going anywhere, OK?" She put her hands on his shoulders and smiled reassuringly at him. "I'm never going to leave you OK?" he smiled back at her and embraced her, pulling her in close to his body.

"Thank you." He whispered. _'I love you,'_ he thought.

They slept undisturbed in each other's arms the entire night, each one thoroughly enjoying the others company.

Tonight however was a completely different story. Beastboy had had constant vicious attacks from the nightmare every time he shut his eyes, and now shook violently in Raven's arms. His eyes were so wide it made him look almost psychotic, and his skin was nearly as pale as Raven's under the cold glow of the moon. He gripped her tightly, his fingers grappling at her skin like claws. Raven was terrified for him; it was tearing him apart and she couldn't blame him. She felt like she was completely responsible for him, and hugged him tighter.

'_At least he's stopped screaming,' _she thought. It had been the most bloodcurdling scream she had ever heard, and it had made her want to tear her insides out. She remembered earlier the rest of the titans banging on her door and their horrified faces when they had seen Raven desperately cradling him on the floor amongst the tangled sheets, his eyes streaming as he continued to shriek. They had each tried to help him, but it was like he was in another world and no one could get through to him. Cyborg had tried to take him down to the medical bay for inspection, but when Beastboy had simply refused to let go of Raven she had stopped him. Her demon side came out from all of the stress, telling them fiercely that there was nothing they could do and that they should just leave her alone to take care of him. Her red eyes had burned into the three of them, stopping everything but the screaming. Starfire had run from the room crying in fear for her friends, and Robin reluctantly left to comfort her. Cyborg had been wise not to stick around, and silently followed him out. When they had gone Raven had returned to normal, and finally shed her share of tears.

A while later she had moved Beastboy and herself onto the bed. She knew that he wouldn't sleep tonight, so she might as well make him comfortable. Not too long after that his screaming had faded, his voice cracking from the strain. He was desperate not to fall asleep, and even tried hard to blink as little as possible, as if each time he got a flash of the nightmare. Raven found his unblinking eyes disturbing, and was grateful when she heard a soft knocking at the door. It slid open a crack to reveal Cyborg's wary face.

"I heard the screaming stop not long ago, just wondering how y'all where doing." He said quietly.

"I don't know. I don't think he'll risk sleeping again tonight." She replied, her voice laden with worry.

"Let me take him to the medical bay now," Raven looked up sharply, "I might be able to do something for him, I might be able to stop this happening again!"

Raven looked down at Beastboy's face. He had almost stopped shaking, and he now bore a more vacant expression than a traumatised one. He definitely needed as much help as he could get. She nodded to Cyborg. He smiled gratefully, glad to take some of the burden off her. He gently lifted Beastboy off her. She expected him to struggle and protest, but he just went limp in Cyborg's arms, his eyes unfocused. It was killing Raven to see him in this state. She got up to follow them, but Cyborg stopped her.

"Raven, you need to get some sleep. You look almost as bad as he does!" he said gently, cracking a slight grin. She didn't smile, but gratefully sat back down, her body urging her to simply let go and fall into a deep slumber. Still, it just didn't feel right. She had been with him almost every second of the day for nearly a week now, and it felt wrong for her to leave him now when he needed her most.

Cyborg could tell that she was contemplating protesting. "Look, even if there is nothing I can do to help him in the long run, I can give him something powerful to knock him out."

"You can't put him to sleep!" Raven yelled desperately, "He'll have the nightmare again and he won't be able to wake up to escape it!"

"No way Rae, this stuff is so strong it will even shut the nightmares out." He reassured her. "Just trust me, OK?" And with that he left, the door sliding shut behind him.

xoxoxoxo

"Don't worry Bb," Cyborg reassured as he set his friend down on the small bed. "I'm just gonna scan you for any abnormalities, see if I can spot what's causing all these nightmares." He smiled at Beastboy. His eyes were open, but he showed no sign of being awake; he remained completely still, and didn't say a word. He just lay limply on the cold bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. Cyborg's smile faded. He turned back to examine each of the panels. As he scanned through the information, a frown formed across his brow.

"That's odd… I can't find anything wrong," he looked back to Beastboy. His eyes were so blank… so empty… Cyborg sighed. He couldn't stand seeing his friend like this. It just wasn't like him. He walked up to his bedside, carefully pulling off his glove and sliding the sleeve down to reveal pale green skin.

"This won't hurt a bit," he said, carefully pushing a needle into his soft skin. Beastboy flinched as he injected the fluid. For the first time he moved; he turned his head to look at Cyborg, a questioning look in his face. "Don't worry it's just to put you to sleep." He stated matter-of-factly. Beastboy's eyes widened.

"WHAT! Are you crazy?" he suddenly leapt up in fury.

"Woa, easy man! Don't freak out, you'll be out too cold for any nightmares with this stuff." Cyborg reassured him.

"But… woa," Beastboy abruptly sat back down, holding his head.

"Just lie down B," Beastboy complied, his eyes heavy. He didn't want to give in, but he couldn't stop himself as his eyes became too much of a strain to keep open and his limbs grew too heavy to stay upright. The last thing he remembered was Cyborg carefully draping the quilts over him and replacing his glove before the world slowly faded into darkness…

xoxoxoxo

"Uhhh…" Beastboy groaned as he sat up, groggily rubbing his eyes. "What the…" he looked around the room. Nope, definitely not his. As he gradually came to he realised he was in the medical bay, and the events of the previous night rushed back to him like a smack in the head. He swung his legs out of the bed, throwing the sheets back and cautiously stood up. He wobbled slightly, and leaned heavily on the desk. _'Must be those drugs Cyborg gave me last night. Can't believe they worked, why didn't he give me them sooner?' _He complained to himself.

He looked up as he heard faint voices coming from the doorway, and saw the silhouettes of three people standing beyond it. His pointy ears twitched as he strained to pick up parts of the conversation. He could make out someone crying. Starfire he guessed from the high pitch, but why _was_ she crying? Then there was Cyborg's deep voice.

"-agree, but what are you gonna tell Bb?" he could just make out. Intrigued, he continued to listen. The next voice was Robin's.

"I don't know, but we need to wake him up!" He sounded irritable.

"There ain't no way I'm telling him! You got any idea how he will react!" Cyborg retorted. By now Beastboy was getting nervous; what was it they had to tell him? He listened harder, but the voices had stopped. _'What about Raven? I'm sure she would tell me whatever it was.' _Then he realised he hadn't heard her speak up once.

When the door slowly creaked open, he had expected to see her first, but instead Robin stepped in.

"Beastboy, you're awake?" Robin asked in surprise But Beastboy wasn't listening. He was peering out into the corridor where he could see Cyborg standing against the wall looking apprehensive, and Starfire close by, still weeping. He turned back to Robin.

"What's going on? Where's Raven?" He asked beginning to feel uneasy. Robin's head dropped; he could not meet Beastboy's eyes.

"That's… that's what we've got to tell you." He muttered. Beastboy couldn't stand it any longer. He knew what Robin was going to say but he couldn't bear to hear the truth. This couldn't be happening!

He shoved past Robin and fled down the corridor. Frustrated by his lack of speed, he morphed into an elegant cheetah, his sleek green pelt revealing a slender figure. He dashed across the tower, not stopping for anything until he reached his destination. When he was finally stood outside Raven's door- even after the rush he had been in to get there- he could not bring himself to open it. He wasn't sure what would await him, and he wasn't sure he wanted to find out.

But he had to.

He placed a shaky hand on the cold door, and slowly slid it open. The sight that awaited him stopped him dead in his tracks, his mouth agape and his eyes brimming with fear.

"No…"

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_A/N: hehe…o.o; tbc Please review now!_


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: Woo hope you're still reading this, thanks for all the reviews! And sorry for the delay XD; Btw, I didn't realise anonymous reviews had been disabled, so I fixed that. Thanks for letting me know Wrathchylde! _

_This chapter is a bit slower and reflective. I dunno XD Just hope you enjoy!_

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Only Nightmares

Chapter 4

"No…" was all that Beastboy could manage.

Before him lay Raven's room; in complete ruins. All her bizarre statues and ornaments were in pieces strewn across the floor and all her books were torn, the loose pages fluttering about in the cool breeze. Her window had been shattered; the glass was everywhere and her curtains hung in shreds from the twisted rail. The pillows and sheets had also been ripped to pieces by some unknown force, leaving pieces of material and stuffing littered around the room. But the most chilling sight in the room was the blood.

It was everywhere.

On the remainder of the sheets, on the shards of glass and spattered all over the carpet, glittering darkly in the dim light.

He prayed it was not Raven's, but he knew it had to be. She was nowhere in sight, but the bloody handprints smeared around the window frame suggested whatever had done this had dragged her off.

He winced at the thought, closing his eyes tightly against the dark remains of her room and turning his back on it. In that split second that his eyes were closed a vivid flash of the nightmare danced tauntingly across his mind, causing him to snap his eyes open. Somehow he had known all along that his nightmare would come to haunt him in reality, he just hadn't want to face the idea. Perhaps that was why he had been so distraught over the whole thing.

"We're sorry Beastboy," Robin said sorrowfully, appearing in the doorway. "We don't know where she is."

Beastboy ignored him. "It wasn't just a nightmare…" He mumbled to himself, barely audible.

"What?" Robin asked, confused. Beastboy turned around to face him, finally meeting his eyes.

"It wasn't a nightmare, it was a… a warning…" he said to him, still thinking it through. "Someone- or something- knew this was going to happen and tried to warn me by means of a nightmare…and failed…" Beastboy drifted, his gaze dropping as realisation struck him.

'_He's loosing his mind…'_ Robin thought, looking at the delirious green changeling nervously.

"Beastboy…we couldn't expect you to have prevented this from happening. It's not your fault," Robin assured him.

"We need to go look for her now!" Beastboy's head snapped up suddenly, urgency and desperation in his eyes. Robin jumped back in surprise.

"Beastboy we've already starting looking, and we're not going to stop until we've found her OK? We _will_ find her, you just need to stay calm."

"CALM? How the HELL do you expect me to stay CALM!" he yelled, his voice cracking.

"Look-" Robin backed away from the raging teen.

"You don't understand! I've SEEN her! I know what state she's in! We might well find her, but she could already be dead right now! And it will be all my fault!" Beastboy collapsed to his knees, sobbing loudly. When raven had been here he knew he had always had a shoulder to cry on, someone to turn to. Now he felt truly alone.

He flinched as he felt a warm hand being placed on his shoulder and looked up through watery eyes.

"We'll go look for her now, ok?" Robin said firmly. Beastboy nodded.

xoxoxoxoxo

The cold wind rippled harshly through Beastboy's feathers, sending a vicious shiver right through his body. He veered towards a nearby rooftop, landing swiftly and morphing into human form. He took out his communicator, and Robin appeared on the screen.

"Any luck?" he asked, his voice crackling from the interference. Beastboy solemnly shook his head, and Robin sighed. "Us neither. Beastboy," Robin began cautiously; he knew the reaction he was going to get. "I think we need to call it a day for now."

"What! We can't! She's dying out there and you want to _'call it a day'?_" He sneered, mocking the very idea.

"Look Beastboy," Robin began firmly; he was beginning to get fed up with these dramatics. But Beastboy had already decided that he wasn't going to listen to all this again. He slammed the communicator shut and threw it angrily at the floor.

He stood there for a while, clenching his fists tightly and scowling at the broken communicator on the floor. He started as a tear escaped his brimming eyes, bringing him to his senses. He quickly wiped it away and began to walk to the edge of the building. Kneeling down on the ledge, Beastboy looked out across the sea as the golden sun slowly set towards it, sending thousands of glittering shards dancing atop the waves. He let go and the tears flowed heavily down his face.

He couldn't face this; he knew the others were upset too, but they hadn't seen her. The image of her broken body had been in his mind the whole day- he just couldn't get rid of it. He cringed once more as the vivid image flashed across his vision, almost as if someone were teasing him with it.

"Raven…" he whispered desperately. "Rae…where are you…" he wrapped his arms around himself tightly, longing for the warmth of his lost friend. His mind wandered back to the night before last; the last night he'd truly spent with her. They had been so close to each other, their cares and worries forgotten. He smiled at the memory of her comforting him, and telling him that she'd always be there for him.

Leaving his memories behind, he swiftly morphed into a hawk and disappeared into the sunset.

xoxoxoxoxo

By the time Beastboy did eventually return to the tower- nearly collapsing onto the roof- the sun had long since gone down. In its place hung a full moon; almost like a ghost, mocking the sun in its superiority.

He had been searching in vain for hours without a break, his teammates having long since returned home. He suspected that they had all retreated to their beds by now. Shakily he got to his feet, thoroughly exhausted. He felt like such a traitor to Raven for being too weak to continue, but he physically couldn't keep himself in the air a second longer.

Beastboy carefully made his way down the roof entrance and headed for his room, gripping the handrail tightly. He promised himself and Raven that he would only sleep as long as necessary to be able to restart his search- No matter what. He wouldn't let Robin stop him. He could tell he didn't think much of his nightmare, and that it wasn't connected at all. _'Heh, it would be a different story if this was happening to Starfire wouldn't it.' _Beastboy thought, smiling maliciously as he neared her room. But as he got closer he could see that Star's door was ajar, and a sliver of warm light was creeping out into the shadowed corridor.

'_She must have fallen asleep with her lamp left on again.' _He presumed, but as he came closer still, he could just make out the mumbling of two people talking. He paused beside the door, listening intently. Now he could hear that once more Starfire was in tears, no doubt weeping for her closest friend.

"Starfire," came Robin's comforting voice, "we will find her. We're not going to lose hope."

"But what if something truly horrible has happened to her, just like Beastboy's dreams of the night have foretold?" Starfire mumbled between sobs.

"Look Star, I'm not sure how closely connected Beastboy's dreams are to all of this," Beastboy scowled, "but you have to hope for the best. We just need to start thinking logically about this rather than just wandering around town hopelessly from dawn to dusk. We don't have the time to waste searching in the wrong places if she really is in danger. We could search aimlessly for years and never find her if she's tucked away somewhere out of reach." Starfire gasped at this. "That's why we just need to come up with a plan." He recovered, Starfire's shocked expression softening.

"We need to start an investigation and then we'll have everyone looking for her. She'll be OK Star, I promise." Beastboy sighed. He was fairly sure that Robin had been lying about his confidence in finding her, so as to give Starfire hope. She was a wreck when she thought there was none, but when she was confident, she was determined and stronger than he could ever hope to be. He longed for her simplicity.

He crept on down the corridor, leaving Starfire's room behind. He stopped when he reached Raven's room, his heart dropping. It had been left untouched in case any clues could still be recovered from the wreckage that he had once slept in so blissfully with Raven. He shuddered. No, it was not the same room anymore. He turned away, unable to gaze at the blood stained room any longer.

He thought back again to that night they had spent together. It felt so much longer ago than only two mere nights now. It also felt like he had been searching for months, not a single day. To be truthful, that night had been the best moment of his life. He was truly beginning to develop feelings for her. He smiled at the thought of them being a couple, imagining her always by his side, going out together and always being close to one another. He just hoped it wasn't too late for it to become reality.

As he reached his room he began to dig around the piles of clothes, bedsheets and all sorts of items. Finally he found what he was looking for, grinning proudly at his find. He held before him a small scruffy book, full of random memories; newspapers articles on Terra and her allegiance with Slade, photographs of the team on their days off and even the odd letter from a fan.

He flicked through the pages, stopping on his favourite entry. This page was even scruffier than the rest, the edges ruffled and the paper creased. He felt a small spark of hope light up inside him as he gazed affectionately at the picture stuck there. It was a photograph of Raven and himself, taken long before this terrible nightmare had begun. He was beaming at the camera, his arm around Raven's waist as if he'd just caught her off guard and pulled her unwillingly into the picture. But she didn't wear a look of anger or irritation at her ambush- although he was quite sure he recalled afterwards receiving his fair share of revenge- she just looked… different.

He couldn't place her expression, but there was n0 doubt she looked attractive. Her vibrant purple hair was glowing in the sunlight, her deep violet eyes equally radiant. There was also a slight tint of pint to her cheeks as she blushed, giving her pale skin a touch of colour.

'_If I ever do see her again, I will tell her how I feel.' _He concluded, smiling to himself.

Beastboy gasped as a tear splashed onto the picture, and quickly cleaned it off. Reluctantly he closed the book and safely stowed it away, wiping his watering eyes. He had to distract himself somehow; this was killing him. Then his mind wandered back to what he had overheard in Starfire's room. _"We just need to start thinking logically about this rather than just wandering around town hopelessly from dawn to dusk." _Beastboy considered this. He was right of course; they needed a plan, and fast. But it wasn't that simple. Where could they even start? There hadn't been a single clue so far, and no one had even glimpsed her since the event.

"_I'm not sure how_ _closely connected Beastboy's dreams are to all of this," _The words echoed through his head. This made him slightly angry at first; he knew that Robin had just thought that he was being overly dramatic. But when he thought about it, he realised that he had jumped to the conclusion that the nightmare and Raven's disappearance had been linked or been some kind of warning. He could understand why a logical person like Robin would be disapproving of this theory.

But what if it had been a warning. He had failed to notice it right? But how was he supposed to predict that it would come true? It wasn't like he had foresight or anything. He lay back on his bed, rolling this thought over in his mind. Before too long his eyes began to droop, and his concentration faded. But before he had even realised he had been asleep, he was sitting upright, dripping in sweat and breathing heavily.

"Why am I still having these stupid nightmares!" He yelled to the ceiling. Despairing, he dropped his head into his hands. But then another thought occurred to him. _'If this was supposed to be a warning… why am I still having them? Unless…'_ He lifted his head as the concept dawned on him.

'_Unless it has something more to tell me…'_

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_A/N: I know that the whole picture of Bb and Raven together thing has been done a lot and is maybe slightly cheesy now but I just thought it fit really well in there. Well that could probably have done with a lot more proof reading, but I wanted to get it submitted cause it took me quite a while to writ. I hope you all still enjoyed it though. Please review!_


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: hehe… oo; I know I kinda abandoned this story for a ridiculously long time, don't know if anyone remembers it XD Really sorry about not continuing with it but I lost interest and I can't force myself to write stories or they will just be complete nonsense :D Well I hope you enjoy this chapter anyway and also hope you continue to read my story! There should only be one chapter after this anyway :)_

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Only Nightmares

Chapter 5

Beastboy prepared himself, breathing in and out slowly and deeply to calm his racing heart. He knew he would fall asleep almost instantly; he could feel the exhaustion dragging him down, urging him to rest. Once adrift in sleep the nightmare would surely take hold.

Thinking about his plan he became hesitant- what if it didn't work? What if he simply couldn't bare the horrific images that he knew he would witness? Still, he had to try.

He had to save Raven.

He slowly eased himself down onto the bed attempting to make himself comfortable. Reluctantly his let his eyelids droop, and was almost instantly swept up into the wings of sleep. Abruptly the calm of finally being able to relax ended as Beastboy was plunged forcefully into the nightmare as if someone had thrown him into a brick wall.

But somehow, this time it felt different. Almost as if by preparing himself for the nightmare and willingly experiencing it, he was more like a spectator watching from afar. He winced as Raven's injured body came into view, and found that he could look away from it. Confused, but intrigued he peered around the room that he was in, the image wavering drunkenly as if he were underwater.

He looked desperately for some sort of clue; anything that could lead him to her. He wasn't even sure if he was awake or not anymore, the whole thing was just so surreal. It was disturbingly like he was there, although when he went to move, he found that he was rooted to the spot, and could only pan around the room.

It couldn't have been a more plain or empty room; the floor was simply cold grey stone, the walls were plain brick and the room was fairly small and square. The majority of the room was in shadow, but from what he could see it contained no furniture at all, not even a rug. The only light there was came from a small window on the opposite wall, which could easily have passed for a small hole in the brickwork. He almost turned away, but suddenly realised the significance of that gaping hole.

Irritated that he could not move he strained to see what lay beyond that window, desperate for even the slightest hint as to where he was. He could just about make out the silhouettes of buildings against a night sky, the distant lights in warm rooms twinkling invitingly, a stark contrast to the cold, harsh interior of ravens prison.

On the verge of giving up, a familiar shape on the skyline caught his eye. Focusing intensely he realised what the building was.

It was one of Jump City's most famous towers besides Titans Tower. Its unique shape stood out from the other bland buildings, its spiked tower tapering towards the top into a sharp point. It was a small glimmer of hope to finding Raven, and that's all Beastboy needed.

At that moment his eyes flew open, and before he even knew he was awake he was running with all the strength and determination he had left to the roof of Titans Tower. He came to an abrupt stop as he burst out of the door into the cool night air, gasping for breath and looking wildly about him.

It was early in the morning; the sky was still dark but only the brightest stars still hung in the sky. Beastboy's eyes flitted about madly, scouring the skyline until he found the tower. It stood boldly against the rest of the city, proud to be so different from the rest of the buildings. He felt a small spark of hope light up inside of him, like someone lighting a fire on a frosty night. He let it lift him up, giving him new energy as he morphed into a hawk and glided out across the sea.

Finally… he was making progress. He soared towards the tower, frustrated that he couldn't reach it fast enough. When at last the building loomed before him, he spiralled its tapering point before landing neatly on its roof, being careful to avoid the sharp spikes that jutted out from the tiles. His bright green eyes –although lacking their usual cheerful spark- scanned around his surroundings, searching every building. Eventually they came to rest upon a distantly familiar sight.

There, just beyond a modern shop front, was a small rundown building which looked neglected and forgotten besides the others. Beastboy flew in closer, observing the finer detail of the building as he leaned in closer. Now he could pick out a small window which could have quite easily passed as just a hole in the brickwork. The flickering light of hope rose in Beastboy's chest, but was now accompanied by a cool rush of nerves.

Would she already be dead?

He pushed the thought away, gathering his courage and swooped down to the window ledge. He grappled at the crumbling brick with his talons, carefully steadying himself. He peered into the darkness. At first he could see nothing but darkness, as his bird form blocked what little light the room usually got from the insufficient 'window'. He transformed into a small cat, crouching down on the narrow ledge. He was too afraid to jump into the room, not knowing just what would await him. He sat patiently, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the dim light, his fur bristling.

Then suddenly there she was, lying there just as he had always seen her; her lifeless and bloodied body sprawled across the stone floor. Even after seeing her so often in his nightmares it was still nothing compared to the shock of seeing her now, lying before him real as the cold air that rushed rapidly into his lungs.

"R- Raven…" he muttered nervously as he stumbled into the room- human once more- terrified that he would not get a reply. When she did not so much as twitch he began to panic, fearing the worst. "Raven!" He said louder. His heart began to race as he knelt down next to her. He placed his trembling hands on her shoulders, shaking her gently, desperate to somehow revive her.

Her head lolled like a wilting flower, exposing her face to Beastboy. He looked over her, horror stricken.

She was even paler than normal, her face seemed thinner, and her skin was mottled with bruises and dried blood. Suddenly her eyes flickered, opening ever so slightly. She tilted her head a little, struggling to focus. When at last Beastboy's features came into view her eyes widened.

"Raven!" Beastboy exclaimed, a smile spreading across his lips. "You're alive!"

"Beastboy!" Raven stuttered, a look of disbelief, confusion and hope in her eyes. "H-how?"

"It doesn't matter, I've got you now Rae! You're going to be alright!" He smiled broadly, tears forming in his eyes. She smiled feebly back, tears running down her own face.

"_I wouldn't be so sure." _A menacing voice rung out from the shadows, echoing around the small room and lingering in the air like a bad sensation.

Beastboy flew around, scanning the shadows desperately. He cautiously got to his feet, standing defensively beside Raven. Something was shifting within the shadows, though he could not pinpoint the source. His eyes anxiously flitted around, the suspense making him uneasy. He flinched as he felt a slight tugging at his ankle and looked sharply down to see Raven's terror stricken face looking frantically up at him.

"You have to leave, now!" She said, her eyes pleading. Beastboy gave her a look of wild disbelief.

"Are you kidding? I just found you! I'm not leaving this place without you!"

"_Awwww, how touching…" _the voice came again, hanging in the air like a deadly mist. But before Beastboy could turn back something flew at him, forcing the air out of his lungs and crushing him into the floor. He cried out in pain as his back and head were smashed against the stone, and began to panic as he felt warm blood trickling through his hair. He scrabbled around desperately trying to get up, but- whatever it was had him pinned down, its claws digging into his shoulders as if someone had stuck him to the ground with knives.

He craned his neck to try and see what it was that was holding him down, but it was completely silhouetted. He morphed swiftly into a gorilla, and kicked the creature forcefully off him. The thing landed in the small patch of light from the rising sun, illuminating its body.

It resembled a very lean wolf like creature with long legs and threateningly large claws that gleamed red with Beastboy's blood. Its fur was matted and missing in places, and was a dull purple and grey. Its tail was long and tatty, as if the fur had not been brushed or washed in months. Whimpering, it slowly got to its feet and faced Beastboy. Its face was slightly reminiscent of a dog, but more like a fierce rat; its dark eyes glinting evilly.

"What is that thing?" He asked nervously, vaguely horrified. But before he could contemplate it once again the animal was lunging for him, claws unleashed, teeth bared. But this time Beastboy was ready. He changed quickly into a hare and dashed underneath its belly. Stunned, the beast landed heavily on the floor where surely a human had just been standing?

"_Hmmm… a changeling, be careful of this one…"_

'_There's that voice again!' _thought Beastboy. _'Don't tell me there are more of these things!' _He swiftly morphed into a wolf, and leapt onto the back of the momentarily confused creature. He sank his teeth deep into the creatures shoulder, ignoring the repulsive taste of its flesh as it howled in anger and pain. But the monster was still larger than Beastboy, and effortlessly threw him off, slamming him into the wall.

"Beastboy!" Raven cried out feebly, barely able to sit up. Tears streamed down her bloodstained cheeks as she watched her friend struggle against the huge beast. The creature instantly turned its gaze to Raven, a deep growl erupting from its throat.

"Uuugh…" Beastboy stumbled to his feet, leaning heavily on the wall for support. "Raven, no!"

But the creature was already stalking towards her. Focusing all her remaining strength, Raven chanted slowly, "Azarath, Me…metrion…..ZINTHOS!" A flicker of black sparked tauntingly around the creature as she concentrated her powers. Bewildered, it stopped in its tracks, head raised. Suddenly all it could see was black as it was launched at the wall. Raven collapsed from the strain, breathing heavily.

"Raven!" Beastboy yelled between coughs, choking on the dust that had been thrown into the air when the beast had come into contact with the wall. Tears streamed from his eyes as the dust momentarily blinded him. He flailed around, straining catch a glimpse of where the creature was. As the mist finally settled, he could just make out the creatures limp body sprawled across the floor, rubble about its body.

Raven had managed to throw the creature with some force at the window, which evidently had been too small for the creature to fit through. Rubble still crumbled from the window, it now being twice as big as it had been before. Beastboy used the extra light to his advantage, peering deeper into the room. Just for a second, he thought he could see a tall figure standing against the back wall. But the sound of Raven coughing and spluttering feebly made him tear his eyes away from the shadows.

"Raven? Raven are you ok?" he asked frantically cleaning the dust out of her face and supporting her head. He carefully brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes, and gently stroked her hair.

"B-Beastboy…" she spluttered, "He's still here!"

"Wha-" Beastboy stopped abruptly as he looked up to see the dark figure looming before him. His face and body were completely concealed by his dark cloak that seemed to melt into the shadows. "Who are you?" Beastboy yelled, trying to sound defiant, but fear leaking into his voice.

The figure laughed quietly, "_to you, I'm sure just another villain_." He spoke in that cold voice that seemed to echo mysteriously around the room. "_I am the tamer of all beasts… even you_." Before the words could even register in Beastboy's brain, the foul rat-like creature leapt up from the rubble and once more onto his back, slamming his face down into the stone.

"Aaaargh!" He cried out as fresh, warm blood trickled down from his nose and head. Once again he could feel the beasts claws digging into his tender flesh, fixing him to the ground. The shadowed figure laughed again, causing the hairs on the back of Beastboy's neck to stand on end.

"What do you want with Raven?" He yelled, spluttering with blood.

"_It's not that I have any interest in her, I just need to split up the team… one… by… one…"_ he said maliciously, letting the words drip from his mouth like poison.

"What?" Beastboy whispered.

"_You see, without your little… 'crime fighting team'_," he smirked, "_the Rattlin can once again roam free and do as they please._" He gestured towards the creature that was currently crushing Beastboy's shoulder blade, a low growl emitting its throat.

The thought of more of these creatures running riot throughout the city… it was sickening.

"_I am the only one who's ever been able to gain their trust… to bargain with them_." Beastboy could almost hear the smirk in his voice. "_So, I agreed to help them defeat the_ _'_Teen Titans'," he spat, "_providing that they would do exactly as I say. They gave me command over Karz here, and I ordered him to capture one of you discreetly, pick you off one by one._"

"But why not just send them all to fight us you coward?" Beastboy interrupted, shuffling under the weight of 'Karz'.

"_That would be an idiots move you fool. If I had sent them to fight there would have been injuries, they would never have trusted me again."_

"So what were you planning to do with Raven? Leave her here to die?" Beastboy snapped, the pain becoming unbearable.

"_Precisely!"_ He sniggered spitefully. Beastboy felt the anger boil up inside him, his heart racing. He desperately calmed himself- this was no time for the beast. Or was it? Beastboy thought carefully, a plan forming in his mind.

Karz suddenly jumped away from the skinny green changeling, bewildered as Beastboy took on the form of a Rattlin.

"_What… it's not possible…"_ The tamer muttered.

'_It worked!' _Beastboy thought to himself, relieved to be free of Karz' grip. He turned to face Karz directly. He growled threateningly and the wiry fur that ran along his spine and around his neck bristled in warning. The creature bore a look of utter confusion, not wanting to fight one of his own kind. Beastboy used this moment of hesitation to his advantage and lunged at him, his claws unsheathed and his teeth bared. He slammed the creature against wall, forcing him back by the shoulders so that he could not so much as wriggle under his grip. Karz still did not attempt to defend himself, obviously loyal to his own species.

"_What are you doing? Attack him! He's a titan!" _The figure yelled furiously. Karz pulled his ears back in submission, appalled at being asked to attack his own kind, and still thoroughly confused.

_/You hear that/ _Beastboy asked the creature in a series of growls/_/He's telling you to attack me! I'm not your enemy, I don't want to harm you! He's just using you and your species to get what he wants! You think he really cares what happens to you/ _Karz looked down, contemplating his options. /_/You don't need to follow him, he needs you! And he's willing to sacrifice you all to get what he wants/ _At this the creatures ears pricked up, and he looked Beastboy directly in the eye as if trying to identify whether or not he was telling the truth. A small snarl rumbled up from his throat. Mildly unnerved, Beastboy continued, _/You think if you destroy me and my friends that'll be it? You can't live in this city; the people, other heroes will rebel, you can't win! He's leading you all to your death and he knows it/_

At that the creature threw Beastboy forcefully away from him, and stalked towards the tamer. The fur on his shoulders bristled, his ears flattened against his head, his teeth bared threateningly. The man stepped back a little, nervous at the creature's behaviour. In the blink of an eye the creature was on him, ripping at his flesh and cloak. Gruesome specks of blood and shreds of material stained crimson were flung into the air.

Suddenly he had scrambled to his feet, and rushed from the room in a strained limp. The creature leapt after him, his tail whisking around the corner and out of sight.

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_A/N: Heh, sorry if that was kinda crappy oo; Anyways I hope you enjoyed it, there will probably only be one chapter after this, so please keep reading and review! _


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